Retirement thoughts/plans/dreams

[Rich Beaudoin]

I had a boss retire a couple months ago due to cancer scare (mid fifties) and similar aged customer retired today on doctors recommendation.
I have a lot of time before retiring, but hope to be able to continue riding at a high level & enjoying great health. So I have frequent thoughts about how much money we 'need' and how soon we could do it.
My retirement dream would involve leaving home for a winter and a summer trip lasting 4-6 weeks (somewhere warm in winter; mountains in summer) of course taking bikes along.
I think I'll always have some kind of side job with a little income, but healthcare costs can be daunting.
And my oldest is entering college next month with her brother only two years later.
If we survived on ramen maybe we could start now...
What are your plans or dreams for post-career life?

[Mabouya]

In my case, figuring out where to live is one of the bigger retirement issues. I currently live in St Louis, which is hot and humid in the summer and cold enough to make riding miserable in the winter, so I'd like to find someplace else more conducive to fun outdoor stuff.

If I wanted to be careful with my expenses I could retire now (at 55) but I figure work isn't that bad, so I might as well continue for a few more years then bail out.

Edit: Rich, I just noticed where you live. The GP / Medford / Ashland area is one of the spots on my list of "places I need to seriously consider as a good spot to retire to." The weather sure seems to be an improvement over what we have here. As an example, right now the dewpoint in St Louis is 76* - that means super high and muggy. In Ashland the NWS is reporting a dewpoint of 48*, much, much better.

[Rich Beaudoin]

You're welcome to stay if you want to come visit the area, seriously.

[Lionel]

Paging Houston

[joosttx]

Paging Houston

I am a big believer in fat. If you think you can do it by surviving on ramen you dont have a lot of room to make an error. Quitting work was the best thing I ever did for my family. But I have a lot of fat, hedges, and fall backs. With that said it took me almost 4 years to get into the mind set to do it. Good luck. Life is short.

With that said, I literally got back from a 40 mile gravel ride where i took pictures of sandals. Yep, my new job....

[Too Tall]

Without pictures it never happened.

A few things to add. I retired from my day job and kept multiple side jobs. My head would explode if I did not have multiple pursuits. Your take away is to not change your lifestyle dramatically.
Once Mrs TT retires we will begin phase two ;)

Moving is overrated. We are staying put until it does not make sense and we plan to use our house and support system as homebase.

That is all I got for now pal.

I am a big believer in fat. If you think you can do it by surviving on ramen you dont have a lot of room to make an error. Quitting work was the best thing I ever did for my family. But I have a lot of fat, hedges, and fall backs. With that said it took me almost 4 years to get into the mind set to do it. Good luck. Life is short.

With that said, I literally got back from a 40 mile gravel ride where i took pictures of sandals. Yep, my new job....

[caleb]

I think I'll always have some kind of side job with a little income, but healthcare costs can be daunting.

You might find this article interesting:A Retirement Plan With Less Golf but More Satisfaction - The New York Times

The gist is that the old model of retirement was to work hard from 25-65 so that you could retire at 65 and play golf, but that's not a particularly good model at maximizing lifetime happiness for most people. The author encourages people to instead consider maximizing enjoyment earlier in life even if it means less income, because that increased enjoyment can allow you to work longer and find satisfaction in it.

[davids]

That Times article is good stuff.

I want to retire before too many more years. A big task for me now is spooling up meaningful outside pursuits so that I have purpose(s) and reason(s) to get out of the house beyond my own fitness. I'm making some good progress.

I highly recommend finding a good fee-only financial planner to help you clarify your goals and determine how to get your finances in shape so you can meet those goals.

About ten years ago my wife & I went through our first financial planning process. At the time we had three big goals: save for retirement; pay for our daughter's education; buy a new home. And the bottom line was that we could afford any two of the three. We stayed put, maximized our IRAs and deferred comp, and funded a 529.

Two years ago we did the process again. Our financial situation had changed a lot as we met those first two goals. This time we ended up re-doing our estate planning, buying long-term care insurance, and then buying that house we'd wanted. We want to be able to pay for a nice wedding sometime in the not-too-distant future, do a lot more travelling, and we began talking about retirement, too.

We have a really solid relationship with our planner now and meet with him a couple times a year to do things like re-balance our portfolio and talk about anticipated expenses. I see this as an ongoing discussion now, something we'll continue doing for decades.

[alexstar]

I'd be interested to hear how old we all are. I'm 35 and doing my best, but retirement is far from a sure thing at this juncture.

[ldamelio]

You might find this article interesting:A Retirement Plan With Less Golf but More Satisfaction - The New York Times

The gist is that the old model of retirement was to work hard from 25-65 so that you could retire at 65 and play golf, but that's not a particularly good model at maximizing lifetime happiness for most people. The author encourages people to instead consider maximizing enjoyment earlier in life even if it means less income, because that increased enjoyment can allow you to work longer and find satisfaction in it.

For the younger Salonistas, this is the key - sustainability and long term work-life balance. Do what you love at a comfortable pace for a long time.

For us older guys (I'm 57), it depends on where you are and what you've done. I've paced myself poorly in life - always had to be the youngest to do X, take the hardest path, etc. I've been a knucklehead in the breakaway of life. Accomplished a lot that I'm proud of and have done some good for the world, but I'm fried. Missed my kids growing up and have been work-bonking for a while. Just made a job change that I thought would improve my work-life balance but it didn't. I have no objective complaints - it's still meaningful work and I'm well-respected, challenged, appreciated, etc. It's just very hard and I have very little in the mental tank. I've saved enough to retire comfortably by most objective standards. Right now I'm still working hard because I feel an obligation to contribute meaningfully in the world and a bigger cushion is always better especially if I have exceptional longevity. I'd also like to leave a bundle for grandchildren's education, etc. However, I know all too well that life is short. 60 and out for me. Maybe a few months to recover and then volunteer in my field, do some consulting, etc. Maybe I'm just going to ride my bike, curl up with my wife, roast some coffee, etc. We'll see. If any of you find me on here whining about work in three years, slap me around.

[SteveP]

i would add...the years keep rolling by whatever you do.

think about where you want to be in 5,10, 15 years.
then work toward making it happen.
the calendar turns whether you plan for something or dont.

i had a 20 yr plan to sell the business i started w a partner at the end of 20 yrs.
worked on schedule. sold the biz, worked* for the new owner for as long as i enjoyed it.
retired. boom.

* straight w-2 work is like being retired after years of operating the business...
employees, inventory, financing, multiple headaches all gone!

[Too Tall]

Lou - start roasting now please.

I get the feeling that in 5 or 6 years a bunch of us are going to have alot of free time.

VsalonBum, has a nice ring to it.

[summilux]

I get the feeling that in 5 or 6 years a bunch of us are going to have alot of free time in France.

Fixed it for ya.

[joosttx]

Lou - start roasting now please.

I get the feeling that in 5 or 6 years a bunch of us are going to have alot of free time.

VsalonBum, has a nice ring to it.

VsalonBum. I need a tshirt.

[caleb]

For the younger Salonistas, this is the key - sustainability and long term work-life balance. Do what you love at a comfortable pace for a long time.

Question for all the older guys who are feeling like they've had enough: Did the feeling that work wasn't indefinitely sustainable always exist, gradually build, come from some particular event, or have a different trajectory?

I ask because I have colleagues in their 70s, and in my line of work it's not uncommon to work beyond conventional retirement years. On the other hand, I also work with people who are counting the days to retirement in their 50s. As a guy in my mid-30s, I could see myself being someone who works for a very long time because I enjoy what I do, but is it possible to know that the enjoyment will last?

I mean, if TT actually buys that villa, being in the US might suddenly become torture. :-)

[NYCfixie]

Question for all the older guys who are feeling like they've had enough: Did the feeling that work wasn't indefinitely sustainable always exist, gradually build, come from some particular event, or have a different trajectory?

In my 40s but closer to 50.

For me, it's the irony of the workforce today. Being laid off three times for no reason (the internet meltdown days and resulting aftermath) and being told that in this day and age it is expected because we have a more flexible workforce. Then when you look for a job being told that they want someone with a more stable work history. WTF.

I work in technology and have kept my technical and leadership skills very relevant but it does not really seem to matter as jobs become super-specialized and there is still the sigma that younger is better. Looking back, I am sorry I did not go to law school or medical school similar to a few of my siblings because they never have trouble "easily" finding stable and very good paying roles.

I am glad my wife and I have been so fiscally conservative because we will be able to retire in a few years or at least scale back if we are not truly ready to 100% stop working.

[Too Tall]

Boss that Villa exists, bad news. My sis and her husband own a 500+ year old house in S. Provence where I've based cycling camps from. Worse(r) news, the adjoining building as well as many houses in the village sit unsold for bargain prices. It's all there for the adventurous. I'm quite willing to entertain the idea for a bunch of retired VsalonBums to use that for a base of operations or destination.

I'll never retire, full disclosure. I'm just doing other things.

[ldamelio]

Question for all the older guys who are feeling like they've had enough: Did the feeling that work wasn't indefinitely sustainable always exist, gradually build, come from some particular event, or have a different trajectory?

Probably different in each individual case. Without boring you with details, my career since 1981 has varied between 60 and 120 hours a week. Not unusual in my profession, especially for guys of my generation. Not sustainable mentally for me any more as I turn 57; I think I can crawl to the line I've set at 60. I suspect I'll recharge a few months after retirement and seek some part time work, whether paid or volunteer. But if not, I have a few languages to learn, books to read, trails to hike, continents to visit, fish to catch, gardens to grow, food to cook, wine to drink, and roads to ride. And the icing on the cake, hopefully, grandchildren to spoil.

Unlike many of my colleagues who rail against millenials as 'lazy', I think they get it. Work/life balance = sustainability.

[Saab2000]

I do not have a financial planner. I would like to hear what a planner offers that we can't learn ourselves. This is not a loaded question.

Over the past decade I've done tons of reading and it all seems to come down to the same few things, namely:

1. Max out your 401(k) and your Roth IRA (or regular IRA if applicable)
2. Do so-called "Catch Up" contributions if eligible
3. Beware of expenses - go with low cost index funds like those offered by Vanguard or something similar. These days if we're paying more than a small fraction of 1% we're paying way too much.
4. Ride the fluctuations

What does a financial planner do that's different from this? When I moved a bunch of 401(k) money last year to a nationally known, quality brokerage house the representative tried to get me into one of their services. I declined and instead invested into a variety of very low fee index funds and ETFs and I think I'm paying less and getting the same thing.

What do people get from their planners? Again, not a loaded question. I'm honestly curious about this.

[NYCfixie]

Maybe I should have said mildly conservative rather than mildly aggressive but we are saying the same thing.

You should live off the investment income when you retire rather than the investment itself. Just make sure you have enough principall.

100k @ 3% assumes a little more than 3 million in investments.

75k @ 8% assumes just under 1 million in investments.

The key to either strategy is too plan ahead knowing that some years will be better then others. If your have a good year while in retirement don't blow your wad. Put the extra income nto cash savings and save it for a year when you do not make as much investment income.

Again, it is all about starting early and having a plan.

I would suggest you should have enough of a stash to live off the income conserative investing produces in your later years. Its a lot safer / easier to make $100k/year at a 3% return than $75K at 8% return. You can make 3-5% income generating returns in the worse of condition I have experienced in my lifetime. Getting risky even mildly risky (what ever that is) during and close to your retirement years is a bad idea especially if you dont know what you are doing. I mean what happens is you lose. What are you going to do then??????